Gambling

Bayview: Are we any better off for all this rubbish though. I feel society is a worse place for the proliferation of gambling that we've had in the last 20-30 years; I've also seen what it can do to people when they're vulnerable or get hooked on the compulsion and it's not pretty. And I really hate what it does to people - it turns them into liars like smack does.

 

That makes me wonder why people buy lottery... Your way has higher chance of winning.

 

It's a really fine line between addition and a 'life lived in the moment'. I think you need the insight to know when you're wreaking your life because you put your gambling first - a key warning sign is that you lose relationships/friendships.

 

I have to admit that the term 'professional gambler' to me is akin to 'professional alcoholic'..
Might just be my family background however. Both sides of my family have significant alcohol and/or gambling issues at every generational level. Fortunately both my brother and I dodged the addictive personality trait bullet, as did our parents - but it still had an impact on our family life. Nothing like associating Christmases and other family events with horrible nasty drunk family members taking out their frustrations on all and sundry.

 

I play a lot of poker at the casino, i track every session i play. Normally i play 3hour sessions and have about 500 hours of time recorded over the last 3 or so years. My average hourly winrate is 20 dollars per hour.

The aim of the game is to basically make more right decisions than your opponents and less wrong decisions, any given day you could win or lose but over a period of time if you are constantly making correct plays you will show profit. Im far from the best but i know when to avoid getting into bad spots with better players and how to find good spots against worse players.

Poker games can be measuerd in terms of buyins ( 100x the amount of the big blind )
At the perth casino the standard game is a buyin of 500. Its interesting because i can succesfully win at this game but if i was to play internet poker for a buyin of 25 ( a much lower stake ) i would not be a winner over the long run. The casino games are much softer, i assume cause you get more tourists coming through. Internet poker is a much tougher level, lots of genuises out there with programming software that tracks hand historys of other players and helps with decision making.

Its good to make a little bit of pocket money from a game i enjoy a lot but the main reason i play poker is to relax and enjoy the challenge. Its hard to explain poker to people that have never played it and most just think its gambling but there definetly is a lot more skill involved compared to luck.

 

No, Ben - and that's my point.

 

Fortunately, I paid attention when probability theory was covered in school. A trip to Las Vegas later in my life and seeing who the real winner was between punters and casino owners cemented these principles. Lotteries, gee gees, doggies, pokies are all the same - money sucking entities for punters and money spinners for owners/bookies. How anyone gets pleasure from such ridiculously faint hope of financial success is beyond me, but each to their own I guess!

 

I get pleaaure out of the 20 i spend on lotto for the 1 in 100million chance i have of winning...... so i can dream of a life i will never have haha

 

Agree - it's the fantasy you buy in the days leading up to the inevitable disappointment.

 

Who have you bet on in Broncos vs Roosters?

 

Australians are the world biggest gamblers. I think this has a lot to do with the popularity of negative gearing, a strategy that seems crazy to many foreigners.

 

Not a huge better
But i put aome money on aus vs gbr in dbls.
And aus to win. Was surprised at the result

I normally lost 4 out of 5 bets and often are the fsvourites tooo!